"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow -
inch by inch, row by row"

Welcome!

I'm a wife, mom, long-time organic gardener and now a new organic farmer, Registered Dietitian (RD), author of the book A Dietitian's Cancer Story and website CancerRD.com. In between all that and more, I am a multiple-time cancer survivor. My website focuses on nutrition information for cancer survivors, however I began this blog in June 2007 to share a wider scope of my thoughts about life as a cancer survivor, food and nutrition, growing food, recipes, our environment, and the urgent need for developing food systems that promote health not disease, ecological sustainability, and social justice.

In January 2009, I began my blog "365DaysOfKale" to write about my passion for "all things kale" and the CancerVictoryGardens™ blog in March 2009 to help everyone touched by cancer cultivate health through a garden's nourishment of body and soul.

I have slowly begun combining the content on my website www.CancerRD.com with my three blogs. One day (no promises), it will all be available to find and read from one easy website, which will still be www.dianadyer.com because I am not really all that clever or creative with words. I'll let you know when the 'launch' is closer.

My Book

Personally autographed copies of the most recent printing are available at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor, MI (734-662-0600, nicolasbooks.com). Proceeds donated to research funded by The American Institute for Cancer Research (aicr.org, 1-800-843-8114)

Cancer Nutrition Websites

Disclaimer

All material on this blog is for informational purposes only. Please consult your personal physician and health care team for advice that pertains specifically to you. The author of this blog disclaims any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of the information on the blog.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Theologian Frederick Buechner has written that vocation is "where your greatest joy meets the world's greatest need." My dear friend and colleague Melinda Hemmelgarn, MS, RD (aka Food Sleuth) stated it slightly differently during her presentation today at the largest organic farming conference in the country, which is sponsored by MOSES - Midwest Organic & Sustainability Education Services (Melinda's presentation was entitled Connecting the Dots between Food, Health, and Agriculture):

"Your calling is found where your deepest joy and the world's deepest need meet."

Those words are the ones I will remember from today.

Through random meetings both yesterday and today, I met so many people worried about cancer, either as cancer survivors themselves, people who are living in counties recently designated as 'cancer clusters', or as someone worried about cancer and thus committed to organic agriculture for cancer prevention. All are viewing their work in this area as their 'calling', their way of contributing to changing the world, even if that change is only in their own little corner of it, and even if the change is only very small.

The MOSES organization has been sponsoring this conference annually for the past 23 years, which has now evolved into the largest organic farming conference in the country, over 3,300 attendees from all over the country, not just the Upper Midwest. We love coming here, even though it is a long drive, which can often be during difficult winter driving weather.

We share values, belief, language, and a commitment that our 'work' is actually our 'calling', 'work' that is our choice and joy, in spite of all the challenges and uncertainties inherent in farming of any kind.

I hope you seek out and get to know your local organic farmers. They are all my heroes as they heal our Earth and protect your community's physical health while they are also helping to rebuild and diversify your community's economic health.

Tomorrow I'll be attending the sessions about CSA (community supported agriculture) management. Yes, we're still working out those ideas and logistics for our garlic CSA.

Step, step, step............we are so fortunate that our work is our joy. :)

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Saturday, February 18, 2012

I found this short film as a 'share' from the Facebook page for Green Fire, a documentary about Aldo Leopold (author of A Sand County Almanac), a film I am so excited to finally see at the MOSES organic farming conference that my husband and I will be attending again next week in LaCrosse, WI.

A friend told me about this book ('you know about Aldo Leopold, don't you?' 'No, not yet.....') shortly after moving to Madison, Wisconsin in 1973. I love the entire book, and re-read it often (in fact I have several editions), but with intention, I have re-read his essay 'The Land Ethic' (the last chapter in A Sand County Almanac) every year since first reading it during the early-70's.

Yes, food, farming, land, people, and so much more - we are all connected. :)

That essay, first published in 1948 I believe, was way ahead of the curve. It is rather startling to keep re-reading it and appreciate Dr. Leopold's prescience about the damages that large-scale industrialized agriculture would bring to the soil and the multiple biological and human communities that healthy soil nourishes and supports. That essay also brings together everything I am interested in that I mentioned in my previous post about healthy soil, and it is not overstating the case to say that I learn or see something new each time I read it.

Short post this morning as I have lots to do today. So I'll leave you to ponder, I do the same :), some of Aldo Leopold's words from his essay 'The Land Ethic' along with another of my favorite quotes about soil:

“The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals….In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such.”

~~ Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Soil is the tablecloth under the banquet of civilization.

~~ Steven Stoll, Larding of the Lean Earth (2002)

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

And how and when and why did the use of the words dirt and soil in all their forms (noun, verb, adjective, even adverbs) become 'dirty' words?Here are just a few examples I can think of right off the top of my head:'dirty language''dirty jokes''dirty play/player''dirty politics''a dirty look''a dirty shame''dirty-blonde''oh, he is just a dirt farmer' (I once heard a world famous landscape architect use this exact term during his public presentation!)'poor as dirt''dishing the dirt''a soiled reputation' (disgraced, corrupted)'soiled hands'I could go on and on....... :(In contrast, I collect positive quotations about soil, dirt, earth, land, gardening - if you have one you love, please send it to me. I'll give you credit (and the author) and use it someday in one of my blogs. :)

While I dislike hearing either word used in a negative or disparaging manner, the truth is that dirt and soil are not equal terms, that soil is a living community, and we as members (not rulers) of this community are connected to and dependent upon on healthy, living soil to produce the healthy food needed to sustain our health and life and that of our children and grandchildren.

I consider being the steward of our farm's living soil community to be my most important and deepest responsibility.

If thinking like this, being a soil fan (even a 'fanatic' like I am), is new to you, I can give you a glimpse of what I am talking about in this short presentation From Dirt to Lifeline by Dr. Fred Kirschenmann at the recent TEDx-Manhattan talks. However, if you really want to have your eyes opened, I suggest that you read the book Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David Montgomery, PhD. I have only read a few books in my adult life that I consider life-changing, and this is one of them. (Addendum - Actually I suspect all books I've read have shaped my view of life - i.e. that 10,000 piece jig-saw puzzle we are each working on - by one or two random pieces at a time, but the book Dirt added a huge coherent chunk all in one fell swoop, giving me an understanding of both the past and our future that I could see with startling clarity.)

Our land, while not abused per se for the past 20+ years before we bought it, had not been cultivated to produce this highly diverse and enormous living community underground that Dr. Kirschenmann describes in his talk. When we first looked at our soil, we had no visible earthworms, none. Now after almost three full years of organic agricultural practices on our first plot, we can see more earthworms than we can count, and that is only the big macro-life that we can see.

As someone who started a long time ago as a 'science nerd', someone who has loved chemicals and molecules and teeny, tiny organisms (those things we cannot see with the naked eye), I am that person who has loved thinking about and actually envisioning nutrients and other molecules moving throughout and being used in our body. However, at the same time when I was still young and developing ideas of what was interesting and important to me, I also went to the other end of the science spectrum and was excited about big things like the first Earth Day in 1970, learning about 'our environment' - how we were harming it or healing it, everything (I mean everything!!) I learned in my first college course in environmental sciences along with a glimpse of understanding the study of ecology and eco-systems - how everything is connected.

Today there is an area of study and practice called 'Agro-ecology', which brings everything together that has interested me during all these years, from cycling molecules and nutrients into our body from healthy soil and healthy food to healthy individuals and communities who value and participate in this healthy ecological process, starting with making compost as Dr. Kirschenmann recommends in this presentation.

I confess that this type of information really excites me. I have found myself sitting on the edge of my seat at a presentation about soil's fungi community and (almost) hyperventilating. :) I guess that means I am still a 'science nerd', but I know I am a happy 'science nerd'. Maybe I am even still a young one! :)

I hope you'll watch Dr. Kirschenmann's talk. It is not over your head. In fact, just the contrary and even more importantly, he will show you (and hopefully even excite you) about what is under your feet. I also hope that you will think about the words soil and dirt differently the next time you hear them used casually in conversation. :)

I'll leave you with a photo of my husband standing in front of the first compost we had delivered to our farm in the fall of 2009 and my most recent favorite 'soil quote'.

(Photo: My husband with the first compost delivered to our farm - Fall 2009 - added to the soil after several cover crops of 'green manure' had also been grown and plowed down into the soil to increase the organic matter, nutrients, and the underground life and bio-diversity)

Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.

~~ Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

(found in the book Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil by Douglas Oster)

Cultivate your life (and your soil) - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I'm reading several books at once (in case you could not tell) since there are only these few winter months during the year that I have time to read either as fun (not much) or as serious reads (most). In one of them that is about ecosystems mismanagement, agriculture/food, climate change, etc, etc, etc (yes, another depressing book), I saw this quick and 'cute' (i.e. sad) reference to the dinosaurs before their extinction.

"Please, just a little more time!"

I am not going to do any more referencing to that/those depressing books right now, but in honor of Valentine's Day and all those 'kith and kin' we love (a term new to me that I learned in one of my current books which means 'friends and relatives'), I will instead just segue to an email message I found this morning that I had saved.

I am sure you have already seen the letter written by Erma Bombeck as she was dying of cancer, in which she tells us all what she would do, or wishes she had done, with just a little more time. It is poignant, always good to read again, and I am sure you will both recognize yourself and also have a verse or wish of your own that you could add.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even

if the carpet was stained or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and

worries much less about the dirt when someone wanted

to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose

before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not

worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while

watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility

carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead

of pretending the earth would go into holding pattern if I

weren't there for a day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was

practical, wouldn't show the soil, or was

guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy,

I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the

wonderment growing inside of me was the only chance in life

to assist God in a miracle.

(To my two sons, I did cherish every moment that I managed to stay pregnant with each of you. I am so lucky! Love, Mom)

When my kids kissed impetuously, I would never

have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's" .. more "I'm sorry's"

..but mostly, given another shot at life,

I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it .. live it..and never give it back.

Stop sweating the small stuff. Don't worry about who doesn't

like you, who has more, or who's doing what.

Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with

those who DO love us. Let's think about what God HAS

blessed us with.

And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves

mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually.

Life is too short to let it pass you by.

We only have one shot at this and then it's gone.

I hope you all have a blessed day.

Here is my addition. I will fuss less about muddy footprints all over the house, on the counter (only once, so far!), on the bed (only a few times, so far!), and instead be happy that we again have a beautiful, loving dog who (like these 'smart' phones) is smarter than we are. :)

Happy Valentine's Day to all my 'kith and kin'. I do love you!

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Thank you to all my readers who responded with their own words that provide courage. I had read only a few of those inspirational words before, so there was much there to take to heart and use when opportunity rises in the future, as it surely will.

I read a quote today that made me ponder the source of courage:

"It's what you read when you don't have to

that determines what you will be when you can't help it."

~~ Oscar Wilde

I am currently reading the book Earth Pilgrim by Satish Kumar (2009). It is hard for me to exactly reconstruct how I found this title and what led me to knowing I wanted to read this book (and my own public library did not have thus I needed to request it through our State's inter-library loan system), but I know that occasionally I find myself on the website for Resurgence magazine, for which the author has served as Editor for the past 30+ years. Resurgence is described as "the spiritual and artistic flagship of the green movement" in The Guardian and serves to bring together and be the heart of 'earth, art, and spirit'.

I told one of my sons I was starting to read this book, which is a series of conversations the author has with an interviewer about life's journeys, both outward and inward, and that just reading the first chapter gave me a comfortable sense of being 'home' plus words to articulate a lot of feelings that have been flowing under the surface for some time.

Under the surface, under the surface of what? For me, my first 'home' is water, as I was born during the sign of Aquarius - the water bearer. I have always loved being close to marshes, ponds, lakes, and rivers, thus I am guessing that my use of that phrase 'under the surface' refers to my identity with any type of body of water.

The book is short but filled with beautiful words and images from those words, along with many words by other writers. Here is a poem that made me place a bookmark on that page:

I would like to live

like a river flows

Carried by the surprise

Of its own unfolding.

~ John O'Donohue

In fact, I like this poem so much that I added it to my Welcome section at the side of my blog. I wish I could do that, live like a river flows, live without 'baggage', without expectations, without judgements, and with only pleasant surprises. It teaches me so much about the trust needed for both the inner journey of life and also the outer journey of life, each a pilgrimage in its own way, with its own meaning, and its own beauty, even when there are unpleasant surprises.

I have read a few books written by John O'Donohue. I first heard the term Anam Cara, 'soul friend', at the memorial service for close friend, and without even knowing what the term meant when I first heard it, I knew that I knew. I read a poem/prayer by John O'Donohue at my older son's rehearsal dinner that another close friend had introduced me to at her daughter's wedding. So John O'Donohue was not new to me, even though the words in this particular poem were.

In contrast, while this book Earth Pilgrim itself and its author are both new to me, the depth of and connections felt from the actual words and spirit in this book are not new. I am musing here, going back to the quotation by Oscar Wilde at the top of my post, wondering if something I read in Earth Pilgrim will be a source of courage for me at some point in the future, if some words I remember consciously or subconsciously will help me act or speak out when "I can't help it", or even help me learn and accept the lessons from challenges that will surely come in the future.

Meanwhile, I will continue to ponder all the ways I can think and feel about this short poem by John O'Donohue, some new words that today made me try to stop the flow of the river, at least get into a quiet, still and shallow pool for a short time where I could have a moment to look around, feel safe, write about and enjoy the view.

Thank you again for sharing your own sources of courage. I hope you know that I will be with you in spirit when you have you own need of courage and will think of all of you with gratitude when I have my own moments of need for future courage. :)

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Yes, it's past time to leave the Komen bombshell of this week behind. It left me exhausted and feeling unbalanced. So what do I do to rejuvenate, re-balance? Among other things, I invite friends over and cook for them!

I made a Savory Kale-Mushroom Strata today, inspired by a recipe printed in the New York Times as part of their recent 'kale-kampaign' (I posted links on my kale blog here to all the recipes that were recently featured in the NYTimes).

This dish is a true winner - easy, delicious, versatile, and healthy. In fact m husband came from the other end of the house to find out what I was making because it smelled so good while cooking!

1) Rinse kale in large colander - break up any larger pieces still evident

2) Cut bread into 1-inch chunks

3) Heat oil in large soup pot

4) Add mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until starting to sweat

5) Add kale to mushrooms in the large pot, stir together until kale is wilting but still bright green

6) Add herbs and garlic powder (or fresh garlic) - gently stir all together in pot - take off heat

7) In separate medium sized bowl whisk eggs until well blended, add milk to eggs, stir to blend together then pour the egg-milk mixture over mushrooms-kale-bread mixture

8) Add salt and pepper to taste - this is difficult to assess - I err on the side of less, rather than more, so I added ~1/8 (scant) teaspoon of salt since the cheese is salty and about 4-5 grinds of the pepper mill

9) Add and gently stir in the feta cheese crumbles to the entire mixture

10) Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish and then pour all of the kale-bread mixture into the dish - I used a large flat spoon to gently push down all of the bread pieces into the milk/egg mixture

11) Lay the red pepper pieces over the top of the strata

12) Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese over the top of the strata

13) Place into hot oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. The top of the bread crumbs will be brown and a little crispy, the cheese melted. Your kitchen, even the entire house, will smell heavenly!

I cut the 9x13 size dish into 10 pieces, but portions can easily be made smaller to serve as a side dish or larger to serve as a main course. I can guarantee this beautiful dish will be a hit and disappear in a flash at a buffet/potluck! If I take it to our next Food Hub meeting, I might have to 'cut' in line just to make sure that I get a little piece to eat. :)

I served it warm today, right out of the oven, but this dish will also be good at room temperature. In fact, I'll bet it will be scrumptious cold, for breakfast right out of the refrigerator (IF, and this is a big if, there are actually any left-overs!).

(Photo: Kale-Mushroom Strata - uncooked)

(Photo: Kale-Mushroom Strata cooked - close-up)

I'm ending with some beautiful words that bring a 'delicious' feeling to my mind and heart.

When we put on the apron, we are nurturing.

This is not work; it’s love.

Carol Nicklaus - Danbury, Conn.

(from her Letter to the Editor, New York Times, Sept. 25, 2011)

My cooking today was definitely not work. Yes, yes, yes............It was all about love and nurturing. Thank you, Carol, for sharing your thoughts with the wider world. I feel lucky that I stumbled upon them. I have included this exact sentiment (using different words) in my book. In fact, using Carol's words and images, I now realize that I actually feel the action of slipping an apron over my head and tying it behind my back is a welcome ritual that I use to step into a different frame of mind (and heart) as I begin the cooking process. :)

I hope Carol's words inspire others to think differently about cooking. This kale strata recipe will certainly have you hoping that someone is cooking for and loving you! Better yet - put on your apron and cook for someone you love or someone who needs some love. :)

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Saturday, February 4, 2012

I deeply believe and try to live by the essence of the Quaker proverb 'Let your life speak', but lately I have come to believe we each need to do more that set a good example with our actions. There are times we must actually speak up and speak out as with the situation that the Komen Foundation created this week. We must be a citizen-activist with words in addition to our actions.

Speaking up takes courage. I know this. Many times I have not had that courage. I remained silent. Many times I have started to speak and stopped, not sure I would sound smart enough, or informed enough, blah, blah, blah.........fill in the blank with any number of reasons.

I only nervously got through my invited presentation last November at The Institute of Medicine by telling myself over and over and over that even though nothing may come from this (grrrrrrr........), this opportunity was my one chance at a national level with 'power-brokers' to share my observations, my ideas, and my concerns (most of which are not considered mainstream ideas and could easily be called impractical, unnecessary, too costly, or even 'radical') in order to help more women have a better shot a long-term survival from breast cancer.

In order to help stop my voice from shaking, I headed up the top of my hand-written notes for my talk with two favorite quotes by inspirational women who have found the courage to share their thoughts on issues of importance to them personally and also to society at large. Instead of studying my notes before I spoke, I read and re-read these words:

"Our silence will not save us"

~ Sandra Steingraber, PhD, Living Downstream

"Speak your mind, even if your voice is shaking"

Maggie Kuhn, Founder of The Gray Panthers

I deeply respect action. I have lived most of my life trying to be active 'behind the scenes' as I'm shy when under the spotlight (yes, that includes the entire 10 years from 1997-2007 when I was constantly on the road speaking around the country). However, time is so short. I now feel there is no time for silence on so many issues where change and compassion are urgently needed for our planet and our fellow travelers on this planet.

If you have a favorite quote or mantra that you use to give you courage, please feel free to share it in the comment section. I think I will need them all. Thank you. :)

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Friday, February 3, 2012

I have been off-line and only heard about Komen's reversal to reinstate funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening for low-income women by reading a short email message from a friend making sure I heard the news.

What a difference 24 hours can make! Thank you to everyone who spoke up somehow to express your outrage that Komen would pull funding for breast cancer screening from the most vulnerable women in our society.

Speaking as an advocate for all women at risk for breast cancer (that is 100% of women, no matter how young or old, rich or poor, how educated or not, their sexual orientation, ethnic background or the color of their skin), I am grateful that Komen has restored funding to breast cancer screening at Planned Parenthood designated for women of limited financial means.

I have been one of these poor women, back when my husband and I were both graduate students with no money and I had no (or 'crappy') health care insurance because of carrying the horrid 'stigma' of being a childhood cancer survivor (which has labeled me with a pre-existing health condition virtually my entire life). Thus I have used Planned Parenthood for women's health care services in the past. (I was also eligible for, based on income, needed, and benefitted by using the federal Women, Children, and Infant Nutrition Program (WIC) to ensure I had adequate nutritious food to eat when pregnant with my first-born child, which I continued for the first 9 months of my son's life.)

I have not forgotten my challenges nor do I turn a blind eye to families who have challenges even more difficult than my own were. I will fight for them, and I am grateful that others did so also yesterday.

My most radical hope is that that everyone in this country can see the wisdom of and can agree about the financial reality of needing to focus our limited resources on prevention, prevention of both unwanted pregnancies and unwanted breast cancers!

We are not only 'all in this together' but I deeply believe that 'we are all related'. What happens to one, happens to all.

My long-time readers may remember that one of my favorite proverbs comes from the Quaker tradition: "Let your life speak".

Thank you to my readers who shared their supportive comments, but more importantly, I thank you for caring, and I thank you for speaking up in whatever way you sent your thoughts through the Universe.

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Thursday, February 2, 2012

I cannot even get onto the Komen website this morning, after it has finally released a statement about its decision to withdraw funds from Planned Parenthood. So I have not read the official statement. I will let you all sort out your own thoughts on its action and its stated reason(s) for withdrawing funding to Planned Parenthood, which had been designated to provide breast cancer screening and education to women who do not have the financial ability (or access) to pay for this critical component of their health.

I have not given any money to Komen for years and years, not since the day after I was their invited keynote speaker at a Race for the Cure event and was handed a race t-shirt with a small discreet Komen logo on the front and a huge picture of Tony the Tiger on the back (it looked life-size)! Of course this was a 'thank-you' to Kellogg's, a sponsor of that event.

Sugared cereal without any fiber (in those days) being promoted along with a breast cancer cure was too much of a 'mind-bender' for me. I stopped giving Komen any money after that event. Now of course a whole lot of 'pink-washing' is going on.

I want to see a Race for Prevention. Having > 200,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 in the US alone is appalling. I want more attention paid (and more than lip service) to understanding all the causes of cancer, and in particular understanding and eliminating the environmental causes of cancer (and by environmental causes, I am NOT talking about diet and lifestyle and smoking!).

Komen's latest mis-step of how they use their funds is beyond the pale for me. Last year it was the KFC "Pink Bucket" campaign. This year it is pulling their funding from Planned Parenthood, funding that was used by low-income women to provide the early detection that is exactly what Komen is advocating (and the fact that this service is likely to be needed by the very women living in the lower income neighborhoods where the Pink Bucket was highly promoted last year is just another 'mind-bender' for me.)

Good-bye Komen. If my name is still on your list of supporters, please take me off. Please stop sending me return address labels. They will be thrown away. The t-shirt was cut up for rags a long-time ago. I could not in good conscience put it into a box of stuff going to a thrift store as that gigantic picture of Tony on the back would have given too many more people the wrong message about breast cancer prevention (or a cure).

Sigh............I really really really don't like this part of the world. I always feel like I am either swimming upstream or with sharks, I'm not sure which. If my raw and honest thoughts are too 'out there' for you, i.e. radical or wrong, I will understand if you respectfully disagree with me. However, silence will not help prevent (or catch early) the 200,000+++++ new cases of breast cancer next year and the year after that and the year after that.

Whatever your thoughts, please share them with Komen and Planned Parenthood. Your money, one way or another, is being used here.